Has anyone taken care of a young child before? Whether you have taken care of a child for a couple of hours or years, you have probably, at some point, experienced a child’s ability to be unsatisfied with what has been offered to him orher.

It was a hot summer day. My sister, Erica, my younger cousin, Ryle, my mother, Rose, and I decided to drive into Nelson to treat ourselves with some famous Wisconsin ice cream. Although it was my mom’s idea to get ice cream, Ryle, by far, was the most excited to enjoy a cold, rich ice cream cone. Once we arrived at the ice cream shop in Nelson the four of us went up to the counter to inspect the multiple flavors of ice cream available to choose from. Within five minutes, Erica, my Mom and I picked out our flavors. Ryle on the other hand was still deciding. At the time he was four, so I went over to help him decide on an ice cream flavor. I asked him “what sounds good?” He replied with an “I don’t know”. So I suggested chocolate. Nope he didn’t want chocolate. I suggested chocolate-chip. No, no chocolate-chip. Vanilla? No, no vanilla. Cookie dough? No, he didn’t want cookie dough. After suggesting all of the flavors, Ryle states “I want chocolate.”

Chocolate was the first flavor I suggested to Ryle, but it took rejecting all other flavors for Ryle to come to the conclusion he wanted chocolate.

I don’t believe children are the only ones like this. As adults and teenagers we go through life searching for a college, a major, a job, a house, a spouse, a community, never knowing exactly what we want but certain we will know when we see it. I believe this is the message Jesus is trying to portray in today’s Gospel.

There will always be other options and reasons not to choose to follow God. Sometimes, the arguments may even seem reasonable. But if we, as Christians, cannot stand firm in our commitment to God, if we cannot be satisfied with choosing God, then how can we ever make and be satisfied with any other decision in our lives?